Do over!

This is a ring that I cast several years ago. After setting the stone I noticed it was set on a slight diagonal. It was not enough of an angle that it looked like it was intentional so I decided to flank the the stone with smaller ones set in a way that it would accentuate the diagonally set center stone. After looking for years, I finally found a variety of small amethyst that would fit in the tiny space available on the ring shank. 

So...what do you think? Did I get the redo right?

Running rabbit

Here is a necklace I made from my impromptu running rabbit. I used Redicit to make the smaller ones which are 1/3 smaller than the original. I also made one more iteration which is 1/3 smaller than shown here, this size could be used for earings or charms. The blue stones are appetite and the brown ones are Poppy Jasper. It retails for $350.

Long time

It's been a long time since I posted. I have been busy though. I've been doing a lot of casting lately, mostly rings but I also cast the bunnies that I posted. Some of my students thought it was a bunny sculpture but that was not my intention but it is a good idea.

Ring

Here is one of the rings I cast last week. The casting did not turn out (it has a lot of voids) but I wanted to set it any way. I like the way it looks set with the spinal but the design is technically not very good. I should have allowed for a way to access the stones from under them. Without this, it is impossible to clean the lubricant (used during setting) from under them. It also does not allow me to thoroughly test the tightness of the settings.

I have some ideas on how to fix the other waxes that I made from the same mold; but I think I will just carve a knew one and be done with it.

Bunny tree

I have had a productive spring break. Here are some bunnies ready to be cast in bronze. The larger ones will be little figures de art and the smaller ones zipper pulls.

I made the small ones using a product called Reduce-it. It is pretty cool but I wish it would shrink a bit more than it does (maybe 2/3 dimensionally). I made one more reduction, which will be for charms) but I did not make a mold of it yet.

I also cast some rings last week but did not get them finished yet.

More rocks, less time

While visiting my sister and brother-in-law in Palm Desert this past week,we took a day and drove out to the Himalaya Mine's (www.highdesertgemsandminerals.com) fee dig site.  It was a beautiful drive over the Pines to Palms highway which winds serpentinesly up to the high desert.

At the dig site we met Terry and his dog Jackass. Terry, showed us samples of the different gems and minerals we might come across; tourmaline, quartz and crystallized mica (which has a pretty lavender hew) and how to screen for them. While we searched the tailings for treasures, Terry entertained us with stories about mining.

We had a great time an found lots of tourmaline (including an awesome blue one) a couple of quartz points and a water clear, gem quality piece of quartz. We also found a couple of egg sized pieces of quartz with tourmaline inclusions. serpentine

Rough cast

This is the rough casting of a bunny I did as a quick demonstration for my lost wax casting class. I used sticky wax and it was so sticky I could not be my usual obsessive perfectionist, which is a good thing, as it freed me up to be spontaneous. I think it turned out pretty cute. It is cast in bronze.